Bakery:
Ho Kuo Yuan Pastry Shop (禾菓園烘焙坊)Address: No. 49-2, Section 2, Jinan Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei
Website: n/a
Style: Chinese
Price: $$
There's nothing special about this standard, rather dingy bakery. It doesn't have the selection and up-to-date look other bakeries have. It's a bit empty, the lightning doesn't exactly show off the goods in a flattering way and the monotonous whir of some sort of machinery is the only thing breaking up the uncomfortable silence. Really, it's as old-school bakery as it gets, but I was here with a purpose.
I'm very rarely influenced by reviews saying to try a particular item, but in this case the review made special mention of an "apple pie". I've said it before, but I always find that Chinese baking lacks anything with real fruit. And I'm not talking about beans or the thick paste-like filling inside pineapple cakes. So I was really intrigued. I walked in, immediately spotted what I wanted and walked out with this apple pie ($30). To my surprise, it was more European than I imagined. The dough was slightly flaky with a softer dough on the inside. There were small chunks of dough and a hint of lemon in either the fruit filling or the dough. It reminded me a lot of an apple strudel I used to buy at a local Polish bakery, so I was impressed - an unlikely find in an otherwise mediocre bakery!
Rating: ***
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